The first Aer Lingus Regional flight from Glasgow Airport to Shannon took to the skies today (Thursday).

The inaugural service linking the west coasts of Scotland and Ireland was announced only four weeks ago.

Aer Arann and Aer Lingus have joined forces to serve another top Irish destination under the Aer Lingus Regional moniker, after launching flights to Dublin and Cork earlier this year.

The service will operate daily from Glasgow Airport, with prices starting at £29.99 one way including taxes – visit www.aerlingus.com to book.

To mark the inaugural flight, all passengers boarding the flight were treated to complimentary drinks and snacks at the departure gate.

Among those travelling was Hector MacIntyre from Bearsden in Glasgow, who booked his ticket only hours before the departure on Thursday morning, unaware he would be flying on the first flight!

Hector was travelling on business, as was Charlie Clark from Prestwick who also booked up at the last minute, having secured his seat on Wednesday night.

Bernadette Burton, from Wishaw, was making use of the new service to visit her sister in Galway for the weekend.

Amanda McMillan, Managing Director of Glasgow Airport, met the passengers and crew as they boarded. She said: “Shannon is a fantastic new destination for us, providing a direct link to Limerick and the Province of Munster in the Irish midwest.

“It also further improves our coverage of the Irish market, with more than 40 flights per week now leaving Glasgow for Dublin, Cork and Shannon.

“Our Aer Lingus Regional services to Cork and Dublin have proved popular with business and leisure travellers due to the excellent product offered by Aer Arann and Aer Lingus.”

Andrew Kelly, Aer Arann’s Director of Corporate Affairs, commented: “Today signifies a new chapter both for us and for our franchise partner, and indeed for Glasgow as we celebrate the first flight to Shannon under phase two of this franchise agreement.

“We hope that the success of phase one of the franchise, which includes flights from Glasgow to Dublin and Cork is emulated over the coming months with more and more passengers taking advantage of the choice, flexibility and convenience that these services have to offer.”